Alex Foley has done it all. From entertaining audiences as a young, stand-up comedian on the Comic Strip stage, to romancing your earholes with ballads like "Red Light" featuring Snoop Dogg.
But it's rare that you find anybody that still likes Eddie Murphy as an actor. It's even rarer that you find somebody that doesn't have a good reason to dislike him.
Sure he deserved accoladic recognition for his supporting role in "Dreamgirls," but some of his most commercially successful works such as "Meet Dave," "A Thousand Words" and the dreadful "Norbit" could never compare to his formerly fantastic films such as "Beverly Hills Cop," "48 Hours" and "The Nutty Professor."
Yet one film that has always been on the fence for me may surprise you.
"Coming To America" as commented on by the Black Men Can't Jump In Hollywood podcast, courtesy of Headgum Podcast Network & Spreaker.
Shocking, right?
(I mean don't take my word for it. Watch the movie anyway because I hear they did work hard on it, and James Earl Jones is a terrific force in this picture.)
Well, believe me you, if any of the following reasons I highly dislike this adventure comedy from 1988, directed by the usually excellent John Landis—whom I always happen to confuse with Harold Ramis and John Hughes respectively—don't make sense, so help me God, have me cover your next shift at McDowell's.
The film stars Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem who must find a proper wife in America after his 21st birthday. His buddy, Arsenio Hall, is up for the ride, begrudgingly. There, they get jobs at a fast-food burger shop run by John Amos. Whilst there, they meet the ridiculous narcissist Eriq La Salle and his girlfriend Shari Headley. Eddie is struck by love as he basically tries to cover up his popularity to appear normal enough to attract Shari.
But here's two things I don't like.
1. Patrice McDowell
She's a phenomenal actress, I'm sure. But Allison Dean's character who happens to be the kid sister of Lisa, is highly annoying!
I don't know why!
I mean, she's fun!
She's cute!
Hell, she's even down to fu—AH, there it is.
She acts like a slut.
Literally, she's almost all over Akeem during the hockey game, and who knows what she did with Semmi in the apartment!
Now, I'm not saying this because I don't love sex.
Because I do!
(And you will never understand how serious that statement is.)
But the truth of the matter? I just don't know if there's much use for Patrice McDowell!
She's a conflict, sure!… To watch.
2. The Ending
Lisa denies Prince Akeem's approach to marry him only to be waiting back at the altar when Prince Akeem returns to Zamunda!
That's Deus Ex Machina! There couldn't be a more clever way of joining the two? Like maybe Samuel L. Jackson comes back, takes Patrice hostage and works in cahoots with La Salle's hair-obsessed character to hurt everybody, unless if somebody challenges him to a duel of driving Rams! And while Jackson drives a car, Murphy drives the animal!
